Ethiopia’s parliament on Thursday approved Ethio Telecom CEO Frehiwot Tamiru as Minister of Innovation and Technology, ending her eight-year run at the country’s dominant operator. The House of Peoples’ Representatives unanimously backed 22 ministerial nominees put forward by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, according to allAfrica. Tamiru succeeds Belete Molla, Borkena reported.
The new cabinet takes shape after the seventh parliamentary term opened on October 5. Abiy was re-elected and sworn in that day for another five-year term. Tamiru’s old job is now vacant, and Launch Base Africa reports that the board of the state holding company will name a successor in the coming days.
What Frehiwot Tamiru Leaves Behind at Ethio Telecom
Abiy appointed Tamiru CEO in July 2018. Under her, Ethio Telecom pushed beyond voice and data into digital financial services, cloud computing, e-commerce and enterprise solutions, according to Launch Base Africa. Its latest figures put annual revenue at ETB 215.8 billion, about $1.7 billion, up 33.2 percent year on year. Active customers reached 90.1 million.
Telebirr, the mobile money service, is the centrepiece. Launch Base Africa says Ethio Telecom scaled it before foreign mobile money platforms won regulatory clearance. The outlet puts Telebirr’s users at 60 million. The platform already powers payments at Ethio Telecom’s ultra-fast EV charging station, TechMoonshot reported.
Her exit lands mid-plan. Ethio Telecom is executing its “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028” strategy, which targets 100 million subscribers and ETB 295 billion in revenue for the 2026/27 financial year. A new chief inherits those targets in the plan’s second year.
What the Minister of Innovation and Technology Inherits
Tamiru now moves from running a revenue-generating company to managing regulatory policy, research, artificial intelligence and startup ecosystem development, Launch Base Africa reports. CIO Africa adds that her remit covers digital infrastructure and technology-enabled economic development.
She arrives with live files. In July, while still at Ethio Telecom, she led negotiations with Chinese provider Inspur Software Technology on AI computing infrastructure, enterprise solutions and local talent development. As minister, she will help shape the policy environment around any such deal.
The wider policy map is moving too. The African Union is asking 55 countries how to govern artificial intelligence, and it wants a continental baseline rather than identical laws, TechMoonshot reported. Ethiopia’s new minister will help set the country’s answer.
Safaricom Ethiopia and the Conflict-of-Interest Question
Here the story gets harder. Safaricom launched in Ethiopia in October 2022 and ended Ethio Telecom’s monopoly. Semafor reported in August 2025 that Safaricom had about 10 million customers in Ethiopia, against 83 million for Ethio Telecom. The same report pointed to the former monopoly’s close ties to the national telecoms regulator.
Now the operator’s longtime chief becomes a senior technology policymaker. Coverage of the appointment does not say how the ministry will manage that overlap. Nor does it say whether she will step back from decisions that touch her former employer.
The shutdown question sharpens the stakes. Who ordered Ethio Telecom and Safaricom’s Ethiopian unit to cut networks across Tigray last month remains disputed, TechMoonshot reported. Neither operator had commented. A minister who ran one of them will now shape the policy around that debate.
Policy direction sends mixed signals. According to IT News Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya agreed in December 2025 to back joint investment between Ethio Telecom and Safaricom. That points to cooperation as well as competition. It also keeps the incumbent central to the sector’s future.
Watch the successor first. The board’s pick will show whether Addis Ababa wants continuity at the incumbent or a break. Then watch Tamiru’s first moves on competition and licensing, and the fate of the Inspur talks. The former Ethio Telecom CEO now holds the pen on rules her old company must follow.
